Good Times
by Gaga4Jeyna
Summary: *WARNING* THERE ARE SOME MINORISH HOH SPOILERS IN HERE! SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF YOU HAVE NOT READ AND/OR FINISHED THE BOOK. And because I'm so nice, the summary is inside so I'm not giving anything away unless you willingly click and go read it, in which case I HOLD ABSOLUTELY NO RESPOSIBILITY! so be forewarned. oh and the cover for this was drawn by annieleonhawt on tumblr.


_**Summary:**_** Reyna and Skippy say goodbye:( This is how I sorta imagined it. It takes place right after they land on the Argo II and before Coach Hedge arrives on deck, which I like to imagine took a long time for the sake of this story.**

* * *

Reyna shifted her weight. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she spurred her pegasus on. Skippy's breathing was becoming more and more labored by the second; he was exhausted. The Argo II was just ahead, floating in the clouds. "Paucis milliaribus amplius Skippy, facias illum" Reyna urged. With the last of his strength, Skippy surged towards the flying boat.

Skippy's hooves finally touched the deck. The moment Reyna swung her legs over onto the floor, he collapsed. His body was covered in lather and the gashes left from the griffons were swollen from the poison. Skippy's breaths came in short, ragged spurts and his sides heaved from the effort it took to stay alive.

Reyna watched as her pegasus lay on the deck fighting for life, eyes dancing wildly. She fought back tears as she watched him struggle and whinny in pain. She knelt next to his head and gently stroked his face. His eyes turned towards her and Reyna nearly sobbed at the frantic look he gave her. "Shh suus 'iens Licuit Skippy. Bene fecistis" she soothed. She knelt there like that for a minute, stroking his face and calming him down. Reyna knew he was in excruciating pain which she had inflicted by asking him to take her across the Atlantic. He didn't deserve any of it. Taking a deep breath, she stood up. "You don't deserve all this suffering, Skippy" Reyna told her beloved pegasus as she unsheathed her gladius . Scipio stopped thrashing like he knew what was coming and welcomed it. His eyes however, still held a haunted look. Reyna and Skippy locked eyes one last time. "I'm so sorry" she whispered before she brought her blade down.

The second her Imperial Gold blade went in, Skippy dissolved into dust, spiraling into the wind. Standing there with Skippy's last essence circling around her, Reyna finally broke down. Tears poured out of her eyes as the last remains of her best friend were blown off into the horizon leaving her with only the image of the haunted look in his eyes.

Slowly walking to the rail, Reyna thought of all the things she and Skippy had done together. She remembered the first day she had flown him right after she was elected praetor. She would often go to the stables at night when she couldn't sleep. Skippy was always willing to listen to her and stay next to her until she left. On those long, lazy, boring, summer afternoons, Reyna would often brush him for hours until it was time for evening muster.

Reyna smiled sadly as she thought of all the time she spent running her fingers through his mane and how Skippy would only allow her to ride him. She could feel the feathers on his wing tickling her nose and making her sneeze, the muscles in his strong neck as she hugged him goodnight, and his soft nose as he nuzzled her hair begging for sugar cubes.

With tears still streaming down her face, Reyna put all those memories aside for the moment and adjusted her armor. She couldn't afford to mourn over her friend now, the world was going to end soon and Octavian was attacking Camp Half-Blood; she needed to stay focused.

With a last glance in the direction the wind had carried Skippy, Reyna bade farewell to her loyal pegasus. "Requiescant in pace Scipionis"

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_P__aucis__milliaribus amplius __S__kippy, facias illum - Just a few more miles, Skippy. You can do it._

_Shhsuus 'iensLicuitSkippy. Bene fecistis__- Shh, it's going to be alright Skippy. Good job._

_Requiescant inpaceScipionis - Rest in Peace, Scipio._


End file.
